Golf is a sport of extreme popularity in the United States and throughout the world for persons of all ages and physical capabilities. To speed up play, and increase enjoyment of the participants, electric or gasoline powered golf carts and manual pull carts are commonly used to carry a bag of golf clubs around the golf course. However, it is often necessary for a golfer to walk to his ball for a shot at a location where golf carts and pull carts are not permitted for the sake of protecting the golf course from damage. For example, on some golf courses, and particularly when the ground is wet as from rain, golf carts are restricted to specially constructed cart paths. Moreover, both golf carts and pull carts are never permitted on and in the immediate vicinity of the green.
In such circumstances, a golfer often leaves his or her cart and carries two golf clubs to the ball. This may be done for a variety of reasons. For example, the golfer may be uncertain which one of two clubs to use for the next shot. Alternatively, the golfer may want to use one club for a first shot, and then walk directly to the ball at its new location with the expectation of using the second club for a second shot. This happens most frequently when the first shot is short shot to the green so that the second shot will be a putt. In such a case, the golfer would carry both a wedge and a putter.
When a golfer carries two clubs, the golfer must of course lay down the unused club when playing a shot with the other club. Laying a club down can have several disadvantages. The golfer must bend over to pick the club up, which may be painful for persons with back injuries. If the ground is wet, the handle will become wet and therefore must be dried off before a shot may be hit with that club. A club laying on the ground is not easily seen, so that it may be left behind if the golfer does not remember to pick it up.
Golf club stands to prop up the unused golf club are known. However, known golf club stands suffer from a number of disadvantages. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5, 116,046 (Pace) and 4,838,285 (Petrone) discloses golfer's tools having multiple uses. Each has one end adapted to penetrate the ground and a second end adapted to grip or support the top end of the shaft of the golf club. These tools have the disadvantage that they lift the club grip only a few inches from the ground. While each tool prevents the grip from becoming wet, the club is almost prone so that the golfer must bend down almost to the ground to pick up the club and tool. Moreover, the club is not easily seen, so that the club is easily forgotten and left behind.
U.S. Pat. Nos.5,285,990 (Engel), 5,127,530 (Ortuno) and 2,887, 137 (Robb) disclose golf club stands which are elongated (of comparable length to that of a golf club) and stick into the ground. Such golf stands are cumbersome to carry and must be retained in and removed from the golf bag respectively between and for use. Moreover such club stands may be unstable in supporting a golf club, depending on the ground condition.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,507 (White et al) discloses a golf stand which engages the golf club shaft near the hosel and forms together with the clubhead a three-point support for the club, with the club held generally upright. This device is bulky so that it is not easily carried by the golfer. When not in use it must be carried in the golfer's hand, laid on the ground, carried on the cart or attached to the golf bag. Moreover, attachment of the device to the golf bag by a clip may require a clip specially designed for the particular bag design. Further, most golf bags have a handle, a carry strap, and many exterior pockets for storing various items, such as golf ball and tees, rainwear, etc. The locations of the strap and handle may interfere with attachment of the device by its clip. When the golf stand is attached to the bag, it may interfere with access to one or more of the golf bag's pockets.